Movie Review: Boys Go to Jupiter

It’s a simple fact of life that sometimes a particular piece of art just won’t work for you. You can appreciate the effort, understand the intent, and even see that there is the spark of something special there, and still walk away feeling utterly unmoved. Unfortunately for me, the debut feature from animator Julian Glander, Boys Go to Jupiter, was one such project. Everything about this seemed right up my alley, from the voice cast to the absurdist comedy to the 21st century capitalist cultural critiques, and yet I struggled to maintain any interest in most of what transpired on screen.

Florida teen Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) has dropped out of school to take up a job delivering food for Grubster in hopes of raising $5,000 to get his own place. He’s found an exploit in the app that allows him to earn money at an accelerated rate and is racing to hit his goal before the company discovers the trick and closes it, forgoing sleep and time with friends to do so. While out on the job, he encounters a strange being from another world, which he names Donut due to its torus shape and decides to bring with him. When the maniacally eccentric Dr. Dolphin (Janeane Garofalo), CEO of the Dolphin Groves Juice Company, becomes aware of the creature in Billy’s possession she decides that she must have it for her research.

The animation is reminiscent of an isometric video game and adds a unique charm to the film, as do the fully engaged performances of the cast. There are a few jokes that elicit an audible chuckle or two, the commentary on our modern, app-driven gig culture is pretty spot on, and the nine original songs contained herein are well-crafted and perfectly utilized. Despite that though, I often found myself struggling to keep my mind from wandering.

I do feel like Glander is really onto something here, but it largely didn’t land for me, though of course your mileage may vary. The story is relatively uneventful, a choice that doesn’t usually bother me, but here I couldn’t help but be acutely aware of it. The sci-fi / fantasy elements don’t really add much either, aside from seemingly random weirdness that is often outshone by the more grounded and observational “real life” moments. Glander is clearly a talent to watch, and I could see this movie really resonating with some viewers, possibly even enough to gain cult status. I just wish I had been one of them. ★★